The Boothbay Harbor town office was flying its flags half-mast to honor the late Glenn Townsend, former fire chief and assistant harbor master, said select board Chair Mike Tomko Feb. 10. “I just ask that you remember Glenn and his family in your thoughts. He will be dearly missed.”

The board granted a liquor license renewal to Tugboat Inn and appointed Richard Lawrence to a three-year term as an alternate on the Port Committee.

Tomko said he, Town Manager Julia Latter and Selectman Wendy Wolf met with Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission Planner Elswyth Strassberger about public transportation throughout the peninsula and county.

The group talked about vehicles, bicycles and sidewalks as important considerations when trying to make travel safer and less tedious. To show how complex transportation issues can be in Maine, Strassberger noted Maine and Vermont differ in spending: $0.80 and $12 per person per year respectively.

“But that did not deter us. Elswyth put together a nice presentation on bicycle parking and she’s going to be sending us some information about doing some bike racks …”

Selectmen will contact the other towns on the peninsula to explore cost sharing and planning for where the bike racks may end up, said Tomko.

Schools

CSD Trustee Steve Lorrain said phase one of the Boothbay Region Elementary school projects is going according to plan despite an issue with one of the new boilers. The contractor, Honeywell, is working on finding a fix. Phase two, which will consist mainly of concrete work and replacing several windows and doors, is being prepared for summer break.

Lorrain said the CSD Board of Trustees and the School Committee have joined in creating a master plan. “(It) involves curriculum, best use of space. They’re trying to make projections on all those types of things. What I’m really here for, and because we are on television, I’m asking the neighborhood, both select boards of Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor – we need to get together.”

Lorrain said the master plan process will likely run into August with more public meetings and smaller working groups.

“One of the comments we kept hearing over and over in the first meetings was that the schools are the heart of the community … The more involved we get, the better off we’re going to be in the long run.”

Other announcements

The town office will be closed Feb. 17 for Presidents Day, Latter said.

Latter said the town is in the process of a third-party inspection on the state of the footbridge and a report will likely be in the board’s hands by March 5.

The broadband committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. March 2 with a focus on creating a survey for residents on broadband concerns.